We selected several ruthless leaders from the book and highlighted their favorite foods — and some of their horrifying dinnertime eccentricities.

Kim Jong Il loved shark-fin soup and dog-meat soup.

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Foods of choice: Kim Jong Il's favorite foods were reportedly shark-fin soup, salo, and dog-meat soup, which he believed gave him immunity and virility. He was also said to be Hennessy's biggest customer.

Hitler was a vegetarian and by the end of his life ate only mashed potatoes and broth.

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Foods of choice: Hitler's vegetarianism has been attributed to ideological reasons, but it also may have been motivated by his belief that a meatless diet would relieve his chronic flatulence and constipation. By the end of WWII, Hitler ate only mashed potatoes and clear broth.

Joseph Stalin led the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. He forced quick industrialization and collectivization, which coincided with mass starvation, the Gulag labor camps, and the "Great Purge."

Dinner etiquette: He enjoyed power-play drinking games and elaborate six-hour dinners prepared by personal chefs, one of whom was Russian President Vladimir Putin's grandfather, Spiridon Putin.

Mussolini liked to eat at home with his family. Everyone had to be seated before his arrival.

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Benito Mussolini founded and led Italy's Fascist Party from the 1920s, consolidating power and creating a totalitarian state. He allied with Hitler during the World War II, but was later removed from power and executed.

Dinner etiquette: Mussolini preferred to eat his meals at home with his wife, Rachele, and their five children. A typical meal in the Mussolini household was punctual, with everyone seated and served at the table before his arrival.

Idi Amin reportedly ate up to 40 oranges a day and enjoyed KFC while in exile in Saudi Arabia.

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Foods of choice: Idi Amin loved roast goat, cassava, and millet bread. He reportedly ate as many as 40 oranges a day, believing they were "nature's Viagra." Later, when he was living in exile in Saudi Arabia, he reportedly loved to feast on pizza and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

He enjoyed luxurious meals while peasants were allowed only rice soup.

Pol Pot and his communist Khmer Rouge movement in Cambodia orchestrated a brutal, anti-intellectual "social engineering program" in which up to 2 million Cambodians were executed or overworked or starved to death.

Dinner etiquette: Pol Pot enjoyed luxurious meals while those suffering under his regime were allowed only water with a sprinkle of rice grains.

There were rumors Nguema was a cannibal who collected skulls in his fridge.

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Francisco Macías Nguema, first president of Equatorial Guinea, killed and drove into exile somewhere between a one-third and two-thirds of his people (most of whom were intellectuals). Once he had 150 of his opponents killed by troops dressed as Santa Clauses to the accompaniment of "Those Were the Days." The country was nicknamed "The Dachau of Africa" during his reign.

Dinner etiquette: Not much is known. There were, however, rumors he was a cannibal who collected skulls in his refrigerator.

Duvalier's "idea of after-dinner entertainment involved a descent to a dungeon ... to watch through a spy-hole while his enemies were being tortured."

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François "Papa Doc" Duvalier was a doctor turned politician, elected on the promise that he would help the country's poor black majority, who had been exploited for years. However, his rule quickly veered south as he installed secret police, and an estimated 30,000 people were shot, imprisoned, or tortured to death.

Dinner etiquette: "His idea of after-dinner entertainment involved a descent to a dungeon whose walls were painted a blood red, to watch through a spy-hole while his enemies were being tortured," according to Clark and Scott.